A few thoughts about diversity and "quotas"

The other day, someone commented on my post about white privilege that the recent push for diversity hiring meant that under-qualified people were being hired for jobs and that was bad.In responding - it occurred to me that I've been hearing a variation of this complaint my entire life. Almost entirely from white men, though white women have been big offenders, too.I shared an anecdote in that piece about a college classmate and friend who suggested that it was hard to be a white man in the news industry and much easier to get a job as a white woman or a person of color. In 1987.I'm sure those arguments go all the way back to the 1960s at a minimum, when the Women's and Civil Rights Movements pushed the issue to the fore. And murmurs about people of color or women being under-qualified always existed when white men were passed over for a job they thought they deserved.This is the thing:Has any woman or person of color ever been under-qualified for a job they were hired to do? I'm sure there have been plenty of examples. WAIT. LISTEN. Has any white man ever been under-qualified for a job they were hired to do? I know there are plenty of examples. Tons of examples. You can probably name five without thinking too hard.Sometimes the wrong person is promoted or given a job. It happens. It usually happens because there's a personal connection, or the candidate went to the same alma mater, or they discover they are both huge fans of Frank Sinatra or something. It sucks when someone gets a job you're more qualified for. Totally. I get that.But to pretend that this is some nefarious "diversity" issue is, frankly, racist and sexist. It presumes that most of the people getting the jobs are under-qualified and they then need to perform far above and beyond to even be considered as capable as anyone else. God forbid they make a mistake on the job - that's just proof of their lack of qualifications.I could link to a ton of studies that show a diverse workforce is better for the bottom line, blah, blah, blah, but if you believe that these are mere quotas and the folks being hired are under-qualified, well, you're not going to believe actual facts, backed up by data.Every time you engage in this dog whistle, realize you're showing other people that you think that people of color and women can't possibly be qualified for the same job you're doing. If that's not what you're trying to signal, maybe think again.Photo by Ken Whytock via Flickr Creative Commons.